“Editorial opinion
High time for change
Madness, impotence, violent
criminal behavior and other per
sonal disasters and social devian
ces have long been attributed to
the use of a certain, evil weed. You
know which one.
Since the days of “Reefer Mad
ness” dire predictions about the
consequences of smoking
marijuana have been spread by
educators, parents and the gov
ernment. Sen. James O. Eastland,
Miss., said in 1974, "If the can
nabis epidemic continues to
spread ... we may find ourselves
saddled with a large population of
semi-zombies."
But not a single study has
proved convincingly that smoking
pot is harmful. Consumer Reports
conducted an exhaustive review of
studies done up to 1972 to deter
mine the effects of smoking pot.
They found a general pattern:
When a research finding can be
From the editor
Launching line of attack
At every party, whenever I'm In
troduced, someone inevitably speaks
'"the line." »
"You're the. Collegian editor?" (They
always say this with surprise, as if they
expect me to be 6'3”, wear a green visor,
have inkstained fingernails and
newsprint smeared all over my face.) i
I never lie about who or what I am to
these people, though often I'm sorely
tempted to insist Shelia McCauley Is
either a twin sister or a figment of
Collegian Imagination.
What follows every Introduction.is
"the line,” the reason I wish I, could
get away with wearing dark sunglasses
,and a fake nose at parties.
VHey, are you going to do a story on
us? You want my picture for the front
page?" This Is "the line." "Heh, hah,
heh" always finished It so I won’t think
they really expect a story about the great
party I went to In Dypso House.
What follows Is even worse’and I call It
"the attack." Usually Joe Drunk launches
a tirade of his gripes 'about the
Collegian. I try to. explain -that I’m off
duty as editor and It’s the only night I
have to relax, really;.and frankly, rights
now l really don't warit'to know how 1 we'
shafted the Tiddlywinks Club this week;
It's, useless, though. My sweetest
voice and toothlest grin do nothing
against the fury of a' Tlddlywlnkef
scorned. But at least they never see the
LEFT
Should marijuana be decriminalized?
454
A: to
Richard E. Grubb (vice
president for Administrative
Affairs) I'm not for
decriminalizing the pusher or
dealer. I'm not for legaliziing it
either. But I have kids in junior
high and if they ever smoked
it, I’d want to be the one to
correct them. I wouldn't want
them to have a criminal record
from it.
readily checked, an allegation of
adverse effects is relatively short
lived. No damage is found and af
ter awhile the allegation is drop
ped, often to be replaced by
allegations of some other kind of
damage due to smoking pot. If the
test procedure is difficult or very
expensive, repeat studies are not
run in other labs so their
.allegations of damage continue to
be cited. Many unpublished
studies fail to show significant ill ef
fects from use of pot even at ex
traordinarily high dosage levels,
according to Consumer Reports.
, On the other hand, alcohol and
nfcotine are demonstrably harmful
drugs, but individuals who possess
them are not fined or imprisoned.
Efforts to prevent use of pot
through legal penalties have' failed.
The National Institute on Drug
Abuse reported in 1974 that,
despite skyrocketing pot busts in
the last few years, pot use
grimace that sits behind that innocuous
Smile.
* Once in a while, however, people I’m;
introduced to don’t believe I'm the
Collegian editor. These are the parties I '
enjoy most. Once the host introduces
me as the.edltor and Joe Drunk tells me
he doesn't believe it, I can lean over and
consplratorlly tell him "I'm not." Now
he's totally confused and usually weaves
off to find the host and get the true
story.
t Sheila
McCauley
The sad thing Is, I'd love to talk to
these people when I’m In the office. Just
last week a USG senator came in to talk
about the. Collegian to complain
about a few things and to ask questions
about a lot more. That's .the kind of
Interest I really enjoy. The Collegian Is
the on|y newspaper most students see
when they're up here and It fascinates
me to see how we affect our readers. We
always have reasons for covering certain
events the way we do, but sometimes
Jf^fl
Mark Peattie (Professor of
Japanese History) Yes. I think
each case should be decided
on its merits. I’m not for
putting kids in the slammer
fora little pot.
Robert J. Maddox (Pro
fessor of History) Y-es, I’d
apply the same standards as
alcohol. Of course it should
be kept from children. Adults
should be able to choose their
own poison. Prohibition has
shown this type of law is
impossible to enforce.
Of 25 peopie interviewed, 20 said yes, 2 said no and 3 were undecided.
remained at an all-time high. There
have been nearly one million pot
arrests since 1972 and pot
remains universally available.
Besides being ineffective,
penalties doled out to people who
get busted may have caused more
harm to those punished than use
of the drug itself. Legislators in
several states, including Alaska
and Oregon, have realized that the
state has no right to ruin in
dividuals’ lives “for their own
good." These states have
decriminalized possession of small
amounts of pot.
Now Pennsylvania’s marijuana
laws are being examined. The
House Law and Justice Committee
has held hearings throughout the
state in connection with House Bill
1699, which would list possession
, of. 30 grams or less of pot as a
summary offense and impose a
$lOO fine but no jail sentence.
Violators would be treated
instead of asking, the way USG senator
Joe Aloia did, readers assume the worst
that the Collegian either doesn't care
or doesn’t know how.
It's notithe Joe Alolas who bring out
my grimace. It’s people like Joe Aloia
who, despite disagreements about
coverage, have a genuine Interest in this
i newspaper and therefore deserve all'the
< praise and consideration they can get
from me.
No, it's the self-interested, publicity
eeekers who disturb me. They call up
and demand a. Tiddlywink story every
week or ask for extensive coverage of
Trivia Week. Even When we explain
problems with space and our Interest In
writing stories that have a human angle,
they persist. They refuse to believe their
existence does not• necessarily make
them newsworthy or interesting to our
readers. They’re the, people who speak
"the line" and launch "the attack" just
like all the Joe Drunks who make me roll
my eyes but unlike Joe Drunk, they
mean It.
What I keep waiting for Is a ohance to
use a line of my own "You’re a
Collegian reader?” (said with surprise, or
course) "I don’t believe it. Why don't you
write letters to the editor, then? And how
about all those human interest stories
the Collegian misses because you guys
don't tip us off to them? And by the
way ..."
ito&PtywPWfi
Forrest Malakoff (Professor
of Sociology) Yes. I think
individuals should have the
right to make the decision for
themselves what they want to
do. No one should impose
their values on another
person.
somewhat like traffic violators.
Possession of 30 grams is now a
misdemeanor and carries a penalty
of 30 days in jail or a $5OO fine. .
But passage of the bill looks
doubtful. In the first place, our
state legislators are very con
servative; how can we expect to
see marijuana*decriminalized when
the drinking age hasn’t been
lowered in Pennsylvania while it
has been lowered in all surroun
ding states? In the second place,
this js an election year and
legislators will shy away from
passing controversial bills.
Before the bill can be palssed,
the myths surrounding marijuana
must be dispelled. Write to your
state legislators and urge them to
vote in favor of the bill. Or, if you
favor police .intervention in private
affairs and the imprisonment of in
dividuals for actions that can harm
no one but themselves, urge them
to vote against House Bill 1699. ,
Letters to the Editor
East blunder
TO THE EDITOR: I for one thought that the recent Ea9t Week
program was an excellent Idea. It was a break from the
monotonous pains of studying which I have been suffering
through for three and a half terms now. This program gave
many students a chance to throw the books on the floor, get
out and do something different for awhile. The majority of the
programs scheduled were organized very well and I speak here
In the sense of time. However, the concert was, In my opinion,
a blunder and a half.
First of all, it was scheduled on a Saturday night without any
consideration that that night might be the.best time for some
students to study. Why. was the concert planned for that
evening? Why wasn't It*planned for the afternoon when most
people want to be outside playing tennis, catching frlsbees or
listening to music while they sun themselves? Did It ever occur
to you people that not everyone wanted to watch a road rally
but would much rather sit In the green grass and listen to
music? Why do you thlnk people turn their stereo speakers out
their windows In the afternoon and not at night? Did you, our
elected representatives, ever ask yourselves these questions
when It came time to schedule the concert?
, Second, -I never saw or even heard of, anyone asking any
students.housed In the quad area If they-cared IMhe concert
was held there, .Hencer,, you,peqple, the ones that we the
students'elected to represent'us have not taken us Into con
sideration when you made this decision. Thank youl - *
Third, the concert infringed on the right of some students to
study and therefore, for some students who elected you, you
have been so kind as to come back and slap their faces. Was
this part of your campaign?
Of all the places that could have been used for the concert,
you, the should-be-responsible people who chose Johnston
Quad, have shown us, the students, that your competence in
holding such an office leaves much to be desired.
In closing, let me emphasize that to be human means to
make mistakes. However, you were not elected to make
mistakes and I trust that you shall start showing us, the
'students, what exactly you were elected for.
Wrong priorities
TO THE EDITOR: To Mr. Seth (4-23)76), who seems full of
explanations on behalf of police actions, please explain to us
the arrest of Rick Seguso, a Bruce SprlngsteenUde.
We had the privilege of being with the band after the concert.
We found the gorup to be totally Involved with their music and
with pleasing their audience. It’s a shame, then, that the band
found themselves disillusioned and confused, rather than
elated after such a great performance, because of one incident
involving Seguso. .
No one could believe it. Seguso questioned the initial ac
cusation, which according to The Dally Blotter (issue 37), and
the band itself, was that he illegally removed a rope barrier.
Consequently, resisting arrest was added to the charge. Even
Bruce himself was at the station half of the night trying to find
out what was going on.
As anyone who “sat” in the front knows, the audience would
have torn through if the rope wasn't cut first. So Seguso's
action might indeed have been in the best interest of the
audience’s safety.
Because the police felt it necessary to direct so much at-
Robert Secor (Associate
Professor of English) Yes, It
seems that there have never
been indications that
marijuana is any more harmful
than alcohol.' The.laws are
unenforceable anyway. Also
there hasn’t been any direct
correlation between marijuana
and hard drugs.
O.F. Blatt
4th-secondary education
Mrs. Eileen Glenn
(secretary of international
programs in liberal arts) I’m
against marijuana. I would
rather not see it
decriminalized or legal. You
kids are crazy, but then we
had our things too, * like
moonshine.
tention to one, rathei* small Incident, others were virtually
overlooked (theft of three hats from Clarence demon's war-;
drobe,' 1 dne being the hat on the cover of the LP: "Born To
Run," a collector's Item). What, Mr. Seth, are police priorities
In matters of this kind?
As a result of how the police conducted themselves in this
Instance'; one of the group members himself was promptedito
remark that It hardly seems worth It to return to PSU next year.
Whymus't the students suffer because of the possible
mishandling of an Incident which occurred at an admittedly,
"stressful" point In the concert?
Entertainment
TO:THE EDITOR: I'm writing in response to Jon Saltsman's
letter In which he criticized "airheads" for not sharing his,
Interests In television programming. Specifically, Mr. Salts-,
man mentioned that, several women became angered or'
disinterested when their soap opera was pre-empted by a talk
show.
From reading his letter, It seems to me that Mr. Saltsman Is
guilty of making several unsubstantiated Inferences,, For iriry
stance, he sees fit to. question whether or not women think.;
What does one's choice of leisure activity have to do with one's,
ability to think? Clearly, many people watch TV,merely to relap;
and may not care to be "intellectually,stimulated" at the tjme.
I'm sure that the talk show could have been enjoyable to many;'
arid that some of the women could have expressed their,
dissatisfaction In a more mature manner. But surely-thls does/
not preclude their right to express preferences which differ 1
from his own. I shudder to think of the melee that would occur/;
had Mr. Saltsman unintentionally pre-empted a Flyer's game or \
the Phillies vs. the Pirates.
Clearly, all of the above are good forms of entertainment
which appeal to many people. Could we only show more,ac
ceptance for those’ Individuals who are different from our
selves? ~ / f ’
One line to the gentleman who was upset by all of the "ratty'
females" in State College ... Perhaps these people are here for
more than just your aesthetic appreciation. Again, let us all
have more acceptance for one another.
sheila McCauley
Editor
BOARD OF EDITORS: MANAGING EDITOR, Janice Selinger:.'
EDITORIAL EDITOR, Brenda Turner; EDITORIAL ASSISTANT,
Sherrie Spangler: NEWS EDITOR, Bill Hannegan; ASSISTANT NEWS
EDITOR, Pamela Reasner; STATE NATIONAL NEWS EDITOR, Laurie
Peacher: CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, Jerry Schwartz; COPY EDITORS/
Deanna Finley, Mike Joseph, Phil Storey; FEATURES EDITOR, Janie
Musala; SPORTS EDITOR, Brian Miller: ASSISTANT SPORTS
EDITORS, Dave Morris, Barb Parmer; PHOTO EDITOR, 'Julie Cipolla;'’
ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS, Eric Felack, Tom Peters; GRAPHICS''
EDITOR, Lynne Maimed; WEATHERMAN, Tom Ross.
Photos by Chris Newkumet
Interviews by Charlene Sampedro
■ -j
jjjppn
Vincent P.-Norris (associate
professor of Journalism) Yes,
I think it should be
decriminalized and also
legalized. People are going to
smoke it whether it’s legal or
not. At least they’d be par
tially protected from
adulterated products. It’s not
any worse than tobacco
cigarettes or booze. '
\W h
l
Nancy Farmer
10th-psycholbgy
Tina Centrella
Bth-flnance
Tom Bayer
9th-psychology
NADINE KINSEY
Business Manager
Rev. Quentin, L. Chaut: I
don’t think it should be a
crime. I don’t think the simple
fact that somebody’s caught
with marijuana should give
them a criminal record. I think !
it’s out of proportion. On the’’
other hand, I’m opposed; tcrJ
drug pushers. 1 ’ AJ’